John Murtha dead at 77

[The_Dude 1,142]

By Martin Weil and Carol D. Leonnig

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died today at Virginia Hospital Center following gallbladder surgery last month.

Elected to Congress in 1974 from a southwestern Pennsylvania district that has been economically devastated by the decline of America's coal-mining and steel industries, the gruff and jowly Murtha was beloved by his constituents for tapping billions of dollars in federal funds to seed new industries there.

He was revered among Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- for his skill over 19 terms in using the power of the federal purse to make kings and deals. A right-hand man of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he was considered one of the most influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill and credited with her ascension.

Critics dubbed Murtha, the chairman of the powerful subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the "King of Pork" for the volume of taxpayer money he could direct to the area around his home town of Johnstown. Most of the largesse came in defense and military research contracts he steered to companies based in his district or with small offices there.

The former Marine became a mentor to lawmakers trying to learn how to work Washington's power levers but also a symbol of the controversial congressional "earmarking." In that process, lawmakers can add federal funds to the budget to give no-bid contracts to pet projects and companies of their choosing. Murtha faced a drumbeat of questions about possible ethical conflicts in his earmarks, as executives and lobbyists for the firms receiving the earmarks were among his most generous campaign contributors.

Murtha was firmly unapologetic, saying it was his duty to help his district create jobs and U.S. soldiers gain new research and tools to help them in battle. To a television crew following him in a House office building with questions about potential conflicts, he held up his miniature red, page-worn copy of the Constitution.

"What it says is the Congress of the United States appropriates the money," he said. "Got that?"

Volunteered for combat

John Patrick Murtha Jr. was born June 17, 1932, in New Martinsville, W.Va., and raised in Westmoreland County, Pa. He long credited the resilient women in his family, including his mother, as key to his success in life. His father, an alcoholic, died early. Murtha said he didn't drink for that reason, and despite the many political fundraisers where the congressman is either honored guest or host, Murtha was known for making an early appearance and an early departure.

He entered the Marine Corps in 1952, during the Korean War period, and served until 1955. He returned to Johnstown to run the family car wash and finish his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962, and he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. During the Vietnam conflict, he volunteered for combat and served near Da Nang in 1966 and 1967.

In 1955, he married Joyce Bell. She survives, along with their daughter, Donna Murtha ; twin sons, Pat Murtha and John M. Murtha ; and three grandchildren.

Back from Vietnam, Murtha was recruited by the local Democratic Party to challenge longtime member of Congress John P. Saylor ® and presented himself as hawkish on military affairs. "To me, it is academic whether we should be in Vietnam," the young veteran said at the time. "Our men are fighting their hearts out so we can sit at home and enjoy the luxuries of this great nation. We have to unite."

He lost the race but won election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. When Saylor died in office, Murtha won a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. In a District that had been Republican territory until the arrival of the New Deal, Murtha's victory was taken in part as a rejection of then-President Richard M. Nixon. His slogan: "One honest man can make a difference."

Murtha, whose military decorations included the Bronze Star and two awards of the Purple Heart, was one of the first Vietnam veterans to sit in the House. His district returned him regularly to office, and after 10 years, Murtha had quietly established himself as a key Capitol Hill player who could woo lawmakers of divergent views to join forces.

"His reputation is, if you're going to put a coalition together, you have to have Murtha," then-Rep. Mike Synar (D-Okla.) told The Washington Post for a 1985 profile of Murtha. Synar died in 1996.

In one of the more painful moments of his career, Murtha was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s. As a result of the FBI undercover operation, several Capitol Hill figures were charged with agreeing to pay bribes to agents posing as representatives of Arab sheiks. Murtha was taped talking with an undercover agent about his interest in helping his district, but he was not charged and said he did nothing wrong.

In 2005, he became the darling of the Democratic antiwar movement when the prominent hawk announced that he was in favor of withdrawing troops from Iraq. He had supported the resolution to go to war in 2002, but he later denounced the administration's war effort as badly planned, calling it "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

Murtha lost his shot, however, to become House majority leader after Democrats retook control of the House in 2006. He had successfully led Pelosi's campaign to be speaker at that time, but some colleagues argued that he could be a political liability in leadership because of what they called his old-style politics.

Ethics investigations

In the past two years, Murtha and several close associates came under the scrutiny of ethics and investigative panels.

In 2008, the FBI raided a powerhouse lobbying firm, PMA Group, whose founder, Paul Magliocchetti, was a close friend of Murtha's and which had had unique success in winning earmarks from Murtha for its clients.

In January 2009, federal investigators raided Kuchera Industries, a Pennsylvania company that Murtha had helped grow with more than $100 million in military contracts and earmarks. The company was suspended from receiving further Navy contracts pending an investigation into allegations that the company had defrauded the government in its billing.

In May 2009, the Justice Department subpoenaed records from the offices of a Murtha protege, Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind). Investigators were looking into allegations that Visclosky's chief of staff, who announced his resignation shortly after the subpoena, had pressured lobbyists to donate to Visclosky's campaign in exchange for earmarks for their clients, two sources familiar with the probe said.

In December2009, the Office of Congressional Ethics reported that it saw no reason to continue its investigation of Murtha's actions on behalf of PMA Group and recommended that the House Ethics Committee take no action against him.

In March 2009, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that every lawmaker looks out for their own: "If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district. . . . Every president would like to have all the power and not have Congress change anything. But we're closest to the people."

He had a bravado that even his critics admired, in part because he could often back up his seemingly big talk. He publicly squared off with many a heavyweight, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President ####### Cheney and even a few presidents.

Last month, Murtha chuckled when asked about President Obama's assertion that he was going to freeze all discretionary spending.

"Well, he can call for it, but we're the guys who make the decision," the congressman said. "I always remind them of that."

Source

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

RIP John

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Say HI to TEDDY!

[Danno 1,228]

The guy was a natural leader, I think he was the first to claim "We have lost the Iraq war"!

And he was no quitter either as he kept repeating it until.... well even the Anti-war crowd told him to "knock it off".

I'm sure all the "Rednecks" in PA (as he so fondly referred to his constituents as) will miss him.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Dannoy and Marc both vying for the Douchebag of the Day award

[alienlovechild 75]

The guy was a natural leader, I think he was the first to claim "We have lost the Iraq war"!

And he was no quitter either as he kept repeating it until.... well even the Anti-war crowd told him to "knock it off".

I'm sure all the "Rednecks" in PA (as he so fondly referred to his constituents as) will miss him.

19 terms in Congress is more than enough for anyone. I don't care which party they belong to but it be nice to some blood in Congress as the old folks had plenty of time to serve their country.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Wow.

[The_Dude 1,142]

19 terms in Congress is more than enough for anyone. I don't care which party they belong to but it be nice to some blood in Congress as the old folks had plenty of time to serve their country.

We have a mechanism to determine when someone has served too long, it's called an election. Just ask 'ol Strom.

[alienlovechild 75]

We have a mechanism to determine when someone has served too long, it's called an election. Just ask 'ol Strom.

Incumbent members of Congress rarely lose an election. The incumbent dies or retires and that's primary way we reallly change of House of Lords-like Congress. The Founders thought there would be more of a turnover.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Incumbent members of Congress rarely lose an election. The incumbent dies or retires and that's primary way we reallly change of House of Lords-like Congress. The Founders thought there would be more of a turnover.

Be careful there ALC, are you suggesting that the constitution is a living document?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Be careful there ALC, are you suggesting that the constitution is a living document?

I do partially agree with ALC's argument. It's next to impossible to get rid of an incumbent like Murtha, especially when he's deep in the pockets of lobbyists.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I do partially agree with ALC's argument. It's next to impossible to get rid of an incumbent like Murtha, especially when he's deep in the pockets of lobbyists.

I know, and the recent decision by the supreme court ought to make things even worse.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I know, and the recent decision by the supreme court ought to make things even worse.

You could do what some states are doing: Only pay them days when they are actually in session, and physically present. That includes salary and per diem. Also, remove the pension incentive, or cap the lifetime benefit to no more than a minor percentage of their accumulated salaries.

In other words, make it so that they could not afford to stay in office more than a couple of terms.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

You could do what some states are doing: Only pay them days when they are actually in session, and physically present. That includes salary and per diem. Also, remove the pension incentive, or cap the lifetime benefit to no more than a minor percentage of their accumulated salaries.

In other words, make it so that they could not afford to stay in office more than a couple of terms.

That wouldn't address the problem of whoring themselves out to lobbyists. In fact, it'd only make it more enticing.